Manila Today
BAYAN Manila spokesperson Enrique ‘Teng’ Lozada Jr. confronted the intelligence officers who had been surveilling him since August 16 in a dialogue held at the local barangay hall in Brgy. 105, Tondo.
The intelligence officers further convinced the barangay kagawad to discreetly take photos where Teng lived. But the local barangay leader refused. Instead, he informed Teng about this incident.
It was during the dialogue when the intelligence officer revealed his name as Jason Villanueva.
Villanueva attempted to convince Teng to accept the ‘balik-loob’ program and surrender or return to the fold during the dialogue mediated by the barangay chairwoman.
Teng was confused, asking Villanueva what crimes or wrongdoings he was accused of that warranted surveillance and the request to surrender. The intelligence officer could not provide an answer.
The officer tried to reassure Teng by saying that there was no imminent arrest. However, Teng found this far from reassuring.
“They said they received information implicating me, so they only wanted to clear my name,” Teng said.
Before the dialogue, Teng had to wait for two hours despite the meeting being scheduled for 10:00 AM. The intelligence officer arrived around 12:00 noon.
Villanueva was accompanied by another man named Mike, who did not disclose his surname when asked by Teng’s paralegal.
Before the dialogue, Villanueva proposed a 2-in-1 conversation that would include both intelligence officers and Teng. Meanwhile, Teng refused and insisted for his paralegal to accompany him. The chairwoman then mediated the dialogue between Teng and Villanueva only.
The chairwoman said she was familiar with the intelligence officers who she identified to be state agents from the Philippine National Police (PNP).
The dialogue
During the course of the dialogue, Teng was offered ‘ayuda’ or doleouts, livelihood services and even government housing. This narrative, he pondered, was similar to the community support programs by the military under the whole-of-nation approach in a bid to end communist insurgency.
“I didn’t engage because in all the series of actions they’ve been doing in the National Capital Region (NCR), they always use livelihood programs as a front. They’ll even say that the conversation is confidential for security reasons, but later on, they’ll make it public and claim that I surrendered and label me as a member of the New People’s Army,” said Teng.
He recalled an incident in March 2023 when he and his father, Enrique Lozada, were profiled by the 11th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army (IBPA). He said it was like a reliving memory especially with a new round of surveillance, this time led by individuals who identified themselves as intelligence officers from the PNP.
Up to this date, the military are still deployed in various urban poor communities in NCR including Tondo. These are the 11th Civil Military Operations (CMO) “Kaugnayan” Battalion and the 12th CMO “Kapatiran” Battalion.
Teng noted that the surveillance attempt was likely due to the growing resistance among many residents he was organizing for the Samahan ng Magkakapitbahay sa Temporary Housing (SMTH), where he was also the auditor, following a recent court order.
This year, the Supreme Court issued an order directing the National Housing Authority to transfer the land to RII Builders as payment for a debt exceeding P10 billion.
“The entire temporary housing area was used as collateral for this debt, which has been a focal point of the residents’ struggle. In fact, we continue to participate in a series of dialogues to confirm and clarify the disputes,” said Teng.
‘This is red-tagging’
The surveillance, according to Teng, is a threat to his safety and security. He added it was also an attempt to silence and sow fear to the urban poor communities to not participate and be vocal about their issue on housing tenure among other socio-economic needs.
“I think this is red-tagging because it’s clear that the intelligence officer mentioned they wanted me to surrender. We all know that before they make someone surrender, they red-tag them first. Then after red-tagging, they will offer services and try to lure people with promises of lumpsum livelihood opportunities, but the catch is you have to surrender and return to the fold. What’s true is you haven’t done anything wrong or illegal. All we’re doing is fighting for and advancing the rights of the people,” Teng explained.
Last April 31, a day before the commemoration of International Labor Day, Teng was seen in posters circulating around his community in Tondo, linking him to the NPA.
“It’s time to speak out and defend ourselves; it’s time to fight back. We demand for the NTF-ELCAC to be abolished, and the 11th and 12th CMO units should be removed from Tondo and other areas in NCR,” Teng added.
Bringing in their Manila-based human rights alliance network Defend Manila, Teng seeks to file a complaint with the Commission on Human Rights and lobby for a dialogue in Congress and with the Manila local government to open discussions following the ongoing militarization, surveillance, red-tagging, and harassment of progressive groups.
With this incident referred to as red-tagging, Teng sees impunity perpetuating even after the higher court’s statement about such that pose threat to a person’s right to life, liberty, or security, which may justify the issuance of a writ of amparo.
“The writ of amparo may be effective at a certain time, but it’s uncertain if it will be granted. The reality is that the threats are real because we hear about activists being abducted and going missing. Some turn up, while others are never seen again,’ Teng added.
Earlier this month, the Court of Appeals denied climate activists Jhed Tamano and Jonila Castro’s petition for writ of amparo and writ of habeas data.
Tamano and Castro are the activists who have been abducted and later presented as ‘NPA surrenderees’ in an NTF-ELCAC forum last September 2023, but both turned the tables and revealed what really transpired under military custody.
“We’ve heard about a whopping P7.8 billion proposed fund for NTF-ELCAC. This should just be reallocated to legitimate programs and social services that would benefit the people such as additional funding for housing, health services, education, and raising workers’ wages, among others, to ensure a decent or, at the very least, a proper standard of living for the people.” Teng emphasized.
